Heel-attaching machine.



No. 674,806. Patented May 2|, I90l.

- C. W.-WUDD$.

HEEL ATTACHING MACHINE.

" (Application filed Jan. 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

STATES ATE T CFFICE.

CALVIN WV. WOODS, OF NORTH BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE E. dc A. H. BATCI-IELLER COMPANY, OF MASSACHUSETTS HEEL-ATTACHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,806, dated May 21, 1901. Application filed January 10, 1901. Serial No. 42.791. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CALVIN W. Wooos, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of North Brookfield, county of Worcester, Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel-Attaching Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention comprises certain improvements in heel-attaching devices, and is particularly intended to be used in connection with the type of heel attaching machine known to the trade as the Bigelow machine, in which a series of heel holders or cups are arranged about a circular table, so that the various cups may be brought into use as the operator desires by the rotation of the table. An example of such a machine is to be found in the United States patent to Pope, No.

588,936, dated August 24, 1897.

As the table carrying the cups is rotated to bring any desired cup into position the operator often fails to exactly position the cup with reference to the shoe-holding jack. In

consequence of this the alinement of the cup is imperfect and the heel is often attached slightly askew. My invention is intended to overcome this difficulty; and it consists in means forautomatically securing the correct alinement of the heel cup or holder as the jack carrying the shoe is swung back into the heel-attaching position above the heel-holder.

To overcome the rubbing of the counter on the back-stop or rear wall of the heel holder 3 5 or cup, I have provided an arm carried by the jack, which is arranged to be interposed between the counter of the shoe and the backstop in order to protect the counter against rubbing on the back-stop. This, too, forms an important feature of my invention.

These and other features characterizing my invention will be fully set forth hereinafter and summarized in the claims hereto annexed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one of the modes of practicing my invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical side elevation, partly in section,showing my improved device. Fig.

2 is a front elevation, partly in section, showing the jack and its accompanying mechanism. Fig. 3 is a similar view in front elevation. Fig. 4 is a detail showing one of the cams carried bythejack. Fig. 5isa plan view of my improved heel-cup, showing the backstops and side guides attached. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the side guides removed, but having the back-stop attached. Fig. 7is

a rear elevation of the heel cup or holder. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the same, both back- (So stop and side guides being removed. Fig. 9

is a side elevation of one of the guides or camblocks.

As in the patent above referred to the shoeholding jack or last A is pivotally attached to or supported by the reciprocating rod A, so as to swing forward away from the heelholder in order to permit the shoe to be conveniently put onto said last or jack and to be removed therefrom. In this instance the member A is provided with an enlarged head a atits upper end, which is slotted, as shown at a, to receive the pivoted arms I), which are mounted on opposite sides of the jack. The upper ends of these arms Z) above the pivotal points are formed to engage cams c, which are secured to the pivot-pin or journal A which in this case is made long enough to project on each side for the purpose of receiving and supporting said cams c. The inside faces of these cams c are cut away to form a sort of incline plane, as shown at c, which are engaged by antifriction-rollers Z), carried by the upper ends of the arms Z). The cams 0 may be adjusted and set to any desired position by means of set-screws 0 As here shown, they should be so placed that when the jack is in the vertical position shown in Fig. 1 the antifriction-rollers should engage the deepest portion of the recesses at 0. Consequently when the jack is moved forward the antifrictionrollers ride on the incline faces until they lie flush with the inside faces of the cam 0, thus causing the upper ends of the arms I) to be forced inwardly and their lower ends to be forced outwardly, the object being to move the lower ends of the arms b away from the jack, so that they will afford 'no obstruction to the putting on or the removal of the shoe. Suitable springs 61 may be employed for nor- I00 mally pressing outward the upper ends of the arms I). Consequently as the jack is swung back into its heel-attaching position these springs operate to yieldingly press the. lower ends of the arms 1) toward each other, so that they will properly engage the heel-holder, as will be hereinafter explained.

The heel holder or cup 6 is provided with the usual recess for holding the heel, and except for the back-stop and side guides or camblocks does not differ materially from the usual form of heel-cup. In order to limit the backward swing of the shoe on the jack to its heel-attaching position, I provide an adjustable backstop f, which has a tongue-andgroove connection with the top of the heelcup, as shown at f, and which is provided with a longitudinal slot f adapted to receive afastening-screwf which passes through the slot and is tapped into the top piece of the heel-cup. This permits the back-stop to be moved forward and back to adjust its position for different sizes and styles of shoes. I also provide the heel cup or holder with a pair of side guides or cam-blocks g, whose inner faces are curved to substantially correspond with the curvature of the heel portion of the shoe, although the space formed by these guides or cam-blocks is somewhat larger than the counter of the shoe to be heeled. These cam-blocks g are provided with rearward extensions or projections g, which fit into a notch or cut-out portion in the blockf, as shown in Fig. 1. The under side of these pro jections g is provided with a rib fitting into a corresponding groove in the block f, the rib and groove extending transversely of theheelcup, so as to permit a lateral adjustment of the cam-blocks g with reference to the heelcup and to each other. These cam-blocks are held securelyin place by means of screws g passing through elongated transverse slots and tapped into the back-stop block f.

It will be understood that while the side guides are independently adjustable in a lateral direction without effecting the position of the back-stop, the back-stop itself is adjustable forward and back, carrying the side guides with it.

At their front ends the inner faces of the side guides g are curved or beveled outwardly to form a cam-surface, against which the lower ends of the arms I) press when the jack is swung back into operative position. It will be obvious that if the heel-cup is slightly askew or slightly to one side of its correct operative position the engagement of the arms I) with the cam-blocks or guides Q will serve to move the heel-cup into perfect alinement by oscillating the cup in a plane at right angles to the direction of the heel-attaching movement of the attaching members, the axis of such oscillatory movement in this case being vertical, thus making it impossible for the operator through carelessness to at tach the heel in any but its correct position.

Another object of the invention is to prevent the rubbing of the counter against the back-stop when the jack is forced downward in its heel-attaching movement in the wellknown manner. Although the cup is yieldingly mounted, so as to be depressed by the shoe as the shoe is forced downward, there is usually some play or lost motion between the jack and the heel-cup, so that their movement is not absolutely simultaneous, and in consequence there is a slight rubbing or friction on the counter of the shoe. 'Io overcome this, I have provided a guard-arm h, which is pivotally supported back of the jack and is hung so as to lie in contact with the back-stop and so as to be interposed between the back-stop and the counter of the shoe. As the vertical movement of this guard-arm must be absolutely simultaneous with the movement of the jack all possibility of friction of the back'stop against the counter of the shoe is removed. In order that this guardarm may not interfere with the removing or putting on of the shoe, it should be so hung that it does not move forward with the jack. As herein shown, its weight alone tends to keep it in the vertical position while the jack is swung forward, but this tendency may be aided by means of an expansive spring, as shown at 7?, which by its expansion tends to keep the guard-arm pressed back against the back-stop whether the jack is moved forward or not.

It will be noticed that the arms I), by reason of their being interposed between the fixed side guides g and the counter of the shoe, operate just as does the rear or guard arm h to prevent any friction or rubbing between the side guides and the counter of the shoe, besides performing their principal fuuction of properly alining the heel-cup.

I believe myself to be the first to interpose between the counter of the shoe and the guideblocks attached to the heel-cup means for protecting the counter from rubbing against the guide-blocks during the vertical movement of the jack, and I believe that I am also the first to provide means for automatically alining the heel-cup as the shoe-holding jack is swung into its operative position.

Without attempting to set forth all the changes in form, construction, and arrangement that may be made in the practice of my invention or all the modes of its use, What I claim is 1. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the jack, the arms secured thereto, the heel-holder provided with guides arranged to be engaged by the aforesaid arms when the jack is moved into position above the heelholder, whereby the proper alinement of the holderis automatically effected, substantially as described.

2. In a heel-attaching machine the combination with the shoe-holding jack or last, the pivoted side arms carried thereby, means for opening said arms as the jack is moved forward after the heel-attaching operation, substantially as described.

3. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heelholder, the cooperating jack or last and means carried by said jack to engage the heel-holder to properly aline the same about an axis extending in the direction of the heel-attaching movement as the jack is moved into position to attach the heel, substantially as described.

4. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the shoe-holding jack, the pivoted side arms carried by the jack, means for moving said arms toward each other as the jack is moved into heel-attaching position, and means for moving said arms apart as the jack is removed from its operative position after the heel has been attached, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the shoe-holding jack, the pivoted arms carried thereby, the springs for normally pressing the lower ends of the arms inwardly and the cams for moving said arms outwardly as the jack is moved from its heel-attaching position, substantially as described.

6. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder, the back-stop secured thereto, the cooperating jack and the arm adapted to engage said back-stop in order to prevent the counter from coming directly into contact with the back-stop, substantially as described.

7. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder, the back-stop secured thereto to limit the rearward movement of the shoe to be heeled and means for keeping the counter from contact with the back-stop, substantially as described.

8. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder, the back-stop secured thereto, the shoe-holding jack, the arm pivotally hung from said jack to engage the back-stop whereby the jack may be moved forward'independently of the arm, substantially as described.

9. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder, the side guides, a back-stop secured thereto and means for preventing the counter of the shoe from coming into contact with said side guides and the back-stop, substantially as described.

10. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder, the side guides secured thereto, the shoe-holding jack and means carried by the jack for engaging said side guides in order to properly aline the heelholder, substantially as described.

11. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel holder, the adjustable guide-blocks secured thereto, the shoe-holding jack and the pivoted arms carried by said jack and adapted to engage the adjustable blocks in order to properly aline the heelholder, substantially as described.

12. In a heel-attaching machine the combination of the heel-holder the guide-blocks secured thereto, the shoe-holding jack, the pivoted arms carried thereby and adapted to engage said guide-blocks and means for automatically moving said arms away from the shoe after the heel-attaching operation to permit the convenient removal or the replacement of a shoe on the last, substantially as described.

, In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of January, 1901.

(J. W. WOODS.

In presence of WILLIAM WALSH, GEO. H. KEMP. 

